OL Reign Fall 2-0 on the Road to Portland Thorns FC

OL Reign suffered its first loss of the 2021 Challenge Cup presented by Secret Deodorant against the Portland Thorns on Wednesday night at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. The loss leaves OL Reign (0-1-1, 1 point) in fifth place in the five-team Western Division. With the win, Portland (3-0-0, 9 points), secured the first-place finish in the west, clinching their spot in the championship match.

Several players made their return from international duty for both sides, including USWNT stars Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Sophia Smith, as well as Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, who were all in the starting XI for Portland. Fellow Canadian Quinn was in the starting XI for OL Reign, with USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe and Jess Fishlock, the most capped Wales’ player of all time, as options on the bench.

The match was fast paced from the first whistle, with both teams eager to get on the board early. The Reign had the first shot on goal in the 3rd minute, when Celia beat the Portland defense on the right flank and played a cross into the box, finding Bethany Balcer’s head. Balcer was able to direct her header on target but didn’t have enough power on the end of it to beat Portland goalkeeper Adrianna Franch.

Portland responded quickly to the OL Reign attack, finding the feet of Simone Charley in behind the Reign backline on multiple occasions. Feeling the pressure, OL Reign gave up a free kick at the edge of the 18-yard box. Lindsey Horan stepped up to take the kick for Portland, driving the ball over the OL Reign wall and past Bardsley, opening the scoring for Portland the 16th minute.

Portland continued to press OL Reign’s deep-set backline, looking to double their lead. In the 27th minute, Crystal Dunn found space to fire off a shot, which sailed over the crossbar. On the other end of the field, Celia beat the Thorns defense with her speed and struck a ball in toward goal. Franch was ready on the near post, shutting down the play.

In the 39th minute, Portland worked the ball back into their attacking third of the field and forced Bardsley to make another save. Bardsley was called on again in the 44th minute but didn’t quite clear the danger. Amber Brooks stepped up, making a goal line save to preserve the 0-1 score line until the halftime whistle.

Portland started the second half with the same energy they had in the first, immediately testing the OL Reign defense. In the first minute of the half, a deflected shot created chaos in the box and left the goal exposed. Charley capitalized on the opportunity to double Portland’s lead in the 46th minute.

OL Reign forward Sofia Huerta found a pocket of space to get a shot off in the 49th minute, just barely putting it over the crossbar.

OL Reign made a series of subs as the game approached the 60th minute, bringing on Megan Rapinoe, Jess Fishlock, Dani Weatherholt, and Leah Pruitt. Reenergized and urgently looking for their first goal of the 2021 Challenge Cup, the match intensified significantly.

Brooks picked up a yellow card in the 65th minute after applying too much pressure into the back of a Portland player. Then, in the 67th minute, Weatherholt threaded a good ball through to Celia on the right flank, who was able to play a dangerous cross into the box and find the head of Rapinoe. Rapinoe was unable to redirect the ball on target.

Though the Reign was revitalized by their substitutions, they still struggled to consistently connect passes and create goal scoring opportunities.

Rapinoe found a shot on target in the 80th minute, but it wasn’t enough to beat Franch. Weatherholt and Pruitt took shots in the 89th and 92nd minute respectively, but neither player was able to convert. At the final whistle, Portland earned their third win of the tournament, securing their spot in the championship game of the Challenge Cup on May 8.

OL Reign will return to Cheney Stadium in Tacoma on Tuesday, April 27 for a match against the Chicago Red Stars Tickets for the Chicago game are available by calling (866)99-REIGN or by visiting Ticketmaster.